REVIEW : THOUGHTS OF MEtAL
KROSSBREED – Enjoy The Rage (Krossbreed 2006)
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"Enjoy The Rage" is KROSSBREED second demo, after "Down To The Core" (2005). The band itself was formed back in 2003, but since then the line-up has undergone a few changes: drummer Tom replaced Evelyn and Stef replaced Warre on bass, after previously playing the guitar. That way, the other guitar position could be filled by Hendrik. The band first started playing covers of METALLICA and SEPULTURA before choosing to go their own way.
"Down To The Core" was the first result and was to be catalogued under Metalcore. Not really my kind of genre, though. It did seem to get positive reviews, so that gave the band new inspiration and energy to go and work on a second demo, titled "Enjoy The Rage". The rage would be unleashed on the 31st October. I got my copy around April-May of 2007.
On this second demo you'll find five songs, incl. a spoken intro in "Again" about rage, what rage is, etc.. of course with effects on the voice. Then heaviness kicks in. Musically it's between Thrash and Hardcore and in a way it reminds of MACHINE HEAD, although there are still enough differences. Michel sounds very angry, the lyrics aren't exactly happy flower-power, but fit in perfectly with the theme 'Rage'. The guitars dominate and Tom is doing his best to get through that thick wall. This is howaver a good song to headbang too, if you feel like it. Somewhere over halfway there's a nice break for the soloing, before the raging continues.
"Down To The Core" starts with screaming guitars. The drums soon set in and overall there's a nice rocking feel about this song. The chorus is quite simple and "Down To The Core" is one of those lines the public can cheer. Not a bad song, but it's particularly the drums that make it somewhat interesting. I guess this is sort of a no-brainer, right?
"True Identity" starts peaceful and gently, again referring to MACHINE HEAD in a way. Michel's light growling (it's not Death Metal growling) is present everywhere. Are the songs autobiographical? He seems to have gone - or still going - through lots of agony. The amount of rage in the songs is really unbelievable. The tempo increase after the third minute is a nice change and avoids the song to become monotonous.
KROSSBREED made a video for "Come Closer", so the band put this on the demo as well. Rolling bass drums and crushing riffing are key here. Comparisons? Especially SEPULTURA and SOULFLY. This is perhaps the best song on the demo.
"Bloodline" is the last song and in the first part, when the band is buidling up the pattern, you can hear that Tom has some small difficulties with the change of snare to cymbals. But after that he even tries some blastbeats. The guitarwall still is there and so is Michel's vicious throat. You don't wanna mess with him.
All in all, the band can be proud of "Enjoy The Rage". Not every song is hit for me, but the result is in general alright and should form a good basis for future works. KROSSBREED also won the Metal Battle 2007, which means they play at one of the biggest Metal festivals in Europe: Wacken Open Air. If you have the chance and time to see them, go and give them some support. If not, but still want to enjoy their music, get in touch with Michel via the band's website.
More info at www.krossbreed.be.
line-up:
Michel Vermoens - vocals, guitars
Hendrik - guitars
Stef - bass
Tom - drums